When we think of student engagement, it’s usually games and exciting activities that come to mind. No wonder why because as Barkley (2010, pp. xi-xii) puts it “competing for the attention of our students and engaging them in meaningful learning is a profound and ongoing challenge,” and games tend to always save the day. But how can we provide meaningful learning as well as an enjoyable experience? Assessment is perhaps not something you would instantly think of since most of us believe it is always teacher-focused and students simply suffer it through. But testing is not the only way to find out more about our students’ knowledge and progress. There are plenty of formative assessment techniques that are less intimidating and more informative than a simple test. Moreover, if we involve our students in the assessment and feedback process by giving them the opportunity to evaluate themselves and each other, you can lay the grounds for a more successful learning journey that engages your teenage students at the same time. In this practical workshop, I will demonstrate different formative assessment activities that can boost your students’ engagement and improve their learning competencies, such as critical thinking, learning to learn, communication, and collaboration. After each demo activity, we are going to think through which competencies the particular activity develops and how it engages students. There will also be room for further discussion on how these tasks can be tailored to your own context.

1. Engage with
Assessment
IATEFL 2022
Joanna Szoke
Assistant lecturer and freelance trainer

2. Introducing today’s speaker
2
Jo has been teaching English for more than 10
years in Hungary, Poland, and in the UK. Having
finished her DELTA, she became actively involved
in teacher training. Her main interests include the
methodology of all forms of online teaching and
assessment & feedback.
Joanna Szoke
Assistant lecturer at Karoli Gaspar University, Hungary
Freelance trainer and content developer for CUP

3. 3
Prepare your mind!
Think of 1 question about anything related to English Language
Teaching OR Belfast with somebody around you!
Image credits: Areadne Lifelong Learning Centre, Kayak

4. 4
I’d like you to discuss these three questions with some people
around you!
1. What did we do exactly? What were the steps?
2. Which aspects of it would a teenager find engaging? Any
adaptation ideas?
3. Which competencies do you think it involves/improves?
A. Writing our own test - Reflection

5. 5
1. What did we do exactly? What were the steps?
• You prepared mentally and chose a topic you were comfortable with
• You worked in pairs or groups to feel safe and promote collaboration
• You sent in your questions with the answers using an online tool
• I created an enjoyable interactive quiz with some additional questions
2. Which aspects of it would a teenager find engaging? Any
adaptation ideas?
competition, SS can choose & be in charge, T can still add own Qs
1. Which competencies do you think it involves/improves?
communication, collaboration, learning to learn, digital literacy
A. Writing our own test - Reflection

6. 6
What does this have to do with me?
Image credit: Jeremy Bezanger

7. 7
How did I do? I like this part
because…
What did you
mean when you
said…? I don’t really
think this works
because…
Perhaps next
time you could
…?

8. 8
I’d like you to discuss these three questions with some people
around you!
1. What did we do exactly? What were the steps?
2. Which aspects of it would a teenager find engaging? Any
adaptation ideas?
3. Which competencies do you think it involves/improves?
B. Assessing each other - Reflection

9. 9
1. What did we do exactly? What were the steps?
• You got familiar with the topic with the help of prediction
• You then watched/listened to “a student” tell the story
• Then you had to evaluate the student using given sentence heads
2. Which aspects of it would a teenager find engaging? Any
adaptation ideas?
seeing a different model is motivating, emotional development too
1. Which competencies do you think it involves/improves?
critical thinking, communication, collaboration, emotional development
B. Assessing each other - Reflection

10. 10
What do you think this is?
Image credit: Andy McCandlish

11. 11
• Imagine you want to send a email to the local council inquiring
about this appalling situation
• Think about what matters when writing such an email!
Work together!
informal formal
straight to the point beating about the bush
call for action leaving it open
just ending it there signing off correctly

12. 12
Let’s turn this into a self-checking list!
Guiding questions
Examples: What am I going to do?
Have I used formal language?
Have I been straight to the point/direct?
Did I ask anyone to do anything?
Did I include a polite sign-off?

13. Or let’s evaluate our own efforts
13
How difficult was
this task for me?
How well do I think
I did on this task?
One thing I learned
during this task
How much time did
I spend on this
task?

14. 14
I’d like you to discuss these three questions with some people
around you!
1. What did we do exactly? What were the steps?
2. Which aspects of it would a teenager find engaging? Any
adaptation ideas?
3. Which competencies do you think it involves/improves?
C. What have I managed to do? - Reflection

15. 15
1. What did we do exactly? What were the steps?
• You got familiar with the context, the basic situation, the problem
• Some main elements of the task were elicited
• These were used as guides for the self-evaluation questionnaire
2. Which aspects of it would a teenager find engaging? Any
adaptation ideas?
they write their own list, collaborative, improves goal-setting
1. Which competencies do you think it involves/improves?
learning to learn, critical thinking
C. What have I managed to do? - Reflection

16. 16
How well do you
think you did in this
whole workshop?
Image credit: Class Dojo

17. References and useful links
17
• Getting Started with Assessment for Learning.
https://cambridge-community.org.uk/professional-
development/gswafl/index.html
• Selivan, L. 2021. Activities for Alternative Assessment.
DELTA Publishing.
• Szoke, J. 2020. Has Time Come to Finally Revolutionise
Assessment and Feedback? https://www.gile-
edu.org/articles/education-science/has-time-come-to-
finally-revolutionise-assessment-and-feedback/

18. Any questions?
Thank you
18

19. Let’s stay in touch!
19
Jo Szoke
joanna.szoke@icloud.com
www.shortandsimpleenglish.com/blog
www.twitter.com/jo_shortnsimple
www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-szoke

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